Barley is a grain product which has been found useful mainly in the brewing industry as barley malt which utilizes the enzymatic activity of the barley malt for industrial applications such as starch-splitting and protein degrading. The barley malt is an important source of alpha- and beta-amylase and is used in many foods such as beer, wheat flour and cereal to convert starch to fermentable sugars.
There has been very limited work in the utilization of barley in other areas heretofore. Exemplary of the prior art in which there have been attempts to use barley in other ways may be found primarily in our prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,311,714 and 4,428,967. In these patents, novel procedures are set forth for the production and recovery of maltose syrup, protein products, barley oil, bran and a carbohydrate gum. The present application is an improvement on these prior processes.
In other art, U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,397 processes grain residues obtained from mashed barley malt to recover water soluble protein products suitable for utilization as animal feeds. U.S. Pat. No. 1,548,721 describes the treatment of starch with an ungerminated grain such as barley until the major portion of the starch has been saccharified. U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,277 discloses production of a protein hydrolysate from barley grain by treating with a proteolytic enzyme at 35.degree.-50.degree. C. to produce protein hydrolysis products and a starch fraction, the solution containing at least 40% of protein. The protein is then reacted with sugar to produce a product having a caramel flavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,725 describes wet processes for separating cereal starch granules according to size and states that barley, rye and wheat starch may be treated in the process. However, the patent does not set forth specific examples of obtaining any product from a barley grain. U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,700 is directed to a method for producing gluten and starch from a dispersion of wheat, barley or rye endosperm fractions in water. However, there is no actual example directed to processing of barley as the starting material or any description of a product obtained from barley.
A publication entitled "Barley Syrup Production" by the ABMIP/DDS-KROYER Process, Pamphlet No. 815G008E, published by the Danish Company, DDS-KROYER, presented in 1972 in Peking by Erik S. Nilsson, discloses a conventional procedure for processing of barley by conversion to malt through germination of the raw barley. A process is disclosed wherein an extract simulating the extract from barley malt action can be produced by degrading barley directly with enzymes such as alpha-amylase or beta-amylase.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,865 discloses maltose syrups obtained from corn starch wherein the syrup contains 60-80% maltose and 15-35% maltotriose.